‘Alarming’ number of young people visiting A&E for their mental health

October 26, 2018

By: Jenna Rachid

‘Alarming’ number of young people visiting A&E for their mental health

Official figuresshow that A&E visits by young people suffering with their mental health have almost doubled in five years, the Independentreports.

The Department of Health and Social Carerevealed that in 2017-18 there were 27,487 visits to A&E by young people aged 18 or under ‘with a recorded first diagnosis of psychiatric conditions.’ This is almost double that of 2012-13, where there were 13,800 young people presenting at A&E.

The chief executive of mental health charity YoungMinds, Emma Thomas, said: ‘It is alarming that there has been such a sharp rise in young people arriving in A&E needing support for their mental health.’

A surveyby Young Minds of 1,531 parents regarding their children found that 61% believed the care their child received in a crisis situation was either ‘bad’ or ‘unacceptable’.

‘One of the main reasons that crisis services are overstretched is that young people who are struggling don’t get help soon enough, which means that problems often escalate. We often hear from young people who’ve gone to A&E because they don’t know where else to turn,’ Thomas added.

Young Minds is now calling for dedicated safe havens for people to receive mental health support, which they hope will stop the cycle of young people visiting A&E in crisis situations.